Chinese Mythology and Spirituality
Chinese culture is majorly
based on the world of spirituality. There have been various methods
of divination in China, practicing the same methods but under
different names. These have also helped in being solutions to
medicinal problems. Chinese folklores, for instance, have also
played a great role thousands of years back to fill the gaps for
things still remaining unexplained and blurred, such as myths,
legends, fables, etc all focused on Taoism, Confucianism and
Buddhism. Some of the well-known holy deities in China are Guan Yin,
Jade Emperor and Budai, who are still a part of the tradition. Some
concepts have been drawn out to spiritual symbols, such as Door God
and the Imperial guardian lions.
Besides Chinese mythology and
spirituality, there is also a strong existence of evil in China.
Taoist exorcism and Jiang shi are some of the practices still
followed to fight mogwai with peachwood swords, not forgetting
Chinese fortune telling which is still a popular ritual followed in
China from thousands of years ago.
Chinese mythology collectively
consists of Chinas cultural history, folk tales and religions
recited in both oral and written form. The most common ingredients
of Chinese mythology are creation myths and other legends and myths,
related to the birth of Chinese culture and the state itself, and is
also considered a factual recording of Chinas history by a few.
Famous historians in the past speculated that the Chinese mythology
was started off in the 12th century B.C., while the myths
and legends in China took place through oral traditions, such as
theatres and songs, and continued for more than thousand years.
Later, these myths were written down in books such as Shui Jing Zhu
and Shan Hai Jing, and thereafter in novels, such as Fengshen Yanyi.
Talking about Chinese
spirituality and its worldly concepts, these concepts actually
symbolize the cultural practices and methods being used in Chinese
culture. While some goes well with the dominion structure of
different regions, others do not. In fact, Chinese
spirituality-based concepts were derived from the ancient Chinese
values of filial piousness and implicit recognition of the presence
of the three kingdoms, viz. the Heaven, the Living and the Deceased,
and the belief in causality and rebirth, regardless of the religious
implications. On the other hand, the Chinese folk religion also
consists of ancestor worship and is heavily based on concepts and
beings within the Chinese mythology and spirituality.
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